Sunday, 22 September 2019 - Imphal Times

When intellectuals, activists and politicians are rolling their heads for gender equality and women empowerment, when law makers are in dilemma to frame legislations about protection of women’s right, a 49(forty-nine) years old lady picks up a job, which the society consider it as men’s job and now become an inspiration to many women, as she successfully showed the society that there is nothing such that a woman cannot do that a man can do.

She is none other than Ningthoujam Ongbi Anita Devi, wife of N.Dilip of Lamding Elangbam Leikai in Thoubal district. Mother of a son and daughter, wife of an ex-school teacher presently running a small shop, Anita is today a role model who is much talked about in Thoubal town of Manipur.

Anita is the first lady to pick up the job of E-Rickshaw driver to support her family. After seeing her courage, she now became a role model for all women of not only in her area but entire Manipur. Realizing her spirit people from all wakes of life today has started supporting her.

This reporter who happened to take a ride in her cozy E-Rickshaw was thrilled when Anita said that it was her love for the environment and her zeal to serve the people that she had chosen the job of driving E-Rickshaw.

“I want to serve people and make my place green free from pollution, that is why I picked up this job”, Anita said when asked why she chose the job.

This journalist expected a reply based on gender equality but to her she seems not bothered about that. All she believes is that there is no barrier between man and woman when it comes to work. “Women can also take up this kind of job to show the society that we are not inferior to male folk”, Anita said.

It was a company called “RaDiant Group” which supported in fulfilling her dream. When she started thinking about picking up a job, it was the “RaDiant Group” that provided her loan for buying the E-Rickshaw. Today Anita is a economically free woman. She earned Rs. 600 to Rs. 700 a day. Every day she pay Rs. 300/- to the “RaDiant Group” and could save around Rs. 400 a day to support her family. People from ThoubaI, Wangjing, Khongjom, Wangbal etc. encourage her so much that they waited to ride her E-rickshaw no matter how late are they.

What surprised this journalist is that Madam Anita not only supports her family with the fare she earns from her passengers but she extended helping hand to poor aged people who cannot afford a motor ride. Today, having more confidence, Anita want to encourage more women to join her. She wants to form an association of women E-Rickshaw drivers in the coming days.

“As of now I don’t have a parking as Association members of other passenger taxi don’t allow us to park and I wish more women take up this job and together we can form an association to claim our right to park somewhere at Thoubal”, a confident Anita said.

“As of now local vendor women use to contact me through cell phone for reservation of my E-Rickshaw but I hope we could have a parking to get passengers at time of their needs”, added.

Anita also plans for an organised E-Rickshaw Service run by women only. She dreams of opening a call center so that anybody can call them anytime in need of service.

When asked if she has any demand to the government, the lady wish a charging point be opened at some convenient area within the market periphery. She also wants the authority to relax the restrictions imposed to the movement of the vehicle at some places in Thoubal district.

Thoubal Excise department burnt a huge amount of Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) which the department had seized during various raids and operations.

The illicit liquors were destroyed in front of the office of the Deputy Superintendent of Excise Thoubal which is situated within the Thoubal Mini Secretariat.

Regarding this, Thoubal Excise Inspector L Dino said, “The liquors we have destroyed today here’s worth rupees 2, 46,600 and there were beers and IMFL and they were handed over to Thoubal police station by groups who caught these items.”

On the other hand, Khongjom Excise Department destroyed Distilled Indigenous Country (DIC) Liquors worth around Rs. 93,300/- in front of Khongjom Police Station in Thoubal district today. The liquor destroyed today was seized by police and excise personnel during a drive conducted in Khongjom area.

Speaking to media OC Excise Khongjom and Pallel Kh.Yaima said the Police and excise team seized DIC Liquor 933 Ltr. Khongjom Police OC Dilip among others were present, when the liquors were destroyed.

To make various programs of the government a resounding success in the district, District Administration, Thoubal organised today a Cross Country Race at Wangjing Sports Complex as an awareness campaign for various programs like Poshan Maah, Swachata Hi Seva, Beti Bachao Beti Padhao, Electors Verification Program, 7th Economic Census and Ayushman Bharat Pakwada. The programme was graced by MLA P.Brojen Singh, Thoubal Zilla Parishad Adhyaksha Hasina Begum, S.P Thoubal Dr.S.Ibomcha Singh and Deputy Commissioner, Thoubal N.Bandana Devi as the chief guest, the guests of honour and the President respectively.In his speech MLA, P. Brojen thanked the District Administration for organizing such mass awareness campaign. He said organizing such campaigns will help the masses to know about the various welfare schemes taken up by the Government. Speaking on the occasion DC N. Bandana stressed on the need to make people aware of the various schemes given to the citizens by the Government. She appealed the elected representatives and Government officials to give awareness to the public about such schemes. She said schemes like Ayushman Bharat which give benefits to the economically backward family needs to give awareness as the number of beneficiaries is still low in the District. Regarding Swachata hi Seva, DC said nation would ban the use of single use plastic from 2nd October. She appealed the people to use reusable plastic and paper made items.Earlier the race was flagged off by the chief guest on the occasion.The programme was attended by Pradhans, elected members, SDOs, BDOs and DLOs of the district. Prize where distributed to the winners of the race.

Aged with her time; she sits crawling down;Wrinkle and wrinkle over and over her face adoring;Her arms so flapping hanging down losing in the air;Soft and wrinkle, she beats her body temple lose;Her feet old and cranky; strong and struggling;Her hands weak and fingering pointing;She loses her smiles amidst the air ‘ha ha ha’;Her lips so murmuring softens with no boundaries;She held her words vibrantly lower and dark empty;Her mouth a shallow cave with springs on;Yeah! She’s beautiful; she’s a woman of nineties;Her teeth show no mercy, she cracks no stone.

Her ‘enaphi’ small and dried, up she held within;Her bosoms so cold, cover with those silky patterns;She tightens up high her ‘phanek’ upon her breast;Her earring hard gold piece solid hanging down loosely;She manages her hairs’ bun now and again;Round and round she did that, folding hair bun;Her tucked ‘takhet lei’ a golden fascinating prize;Ah! She walk tortoise holding her basket;With those barely oversize chappal ‘phat phat phat’;She sits and she talks little; her face so gloomy tired;She walks long down the road, a mile distance;Her head so brightly shining with her white grey hairs;Holding her basket tucked beside her hip;She speeded as she walks down to her home.

Vegetables! She sells in the market singjamei;Evening her day, her basket with vegetables she hold lovingly;‘si leikhro, si leikhro’ ‘ei yumda hanning le thengle’ she begged;‘kaya gi no mabok’ ‘Mabok nungairibra? I ask her;‘Nungairi ye ngbu nungairibra, udba yamna kuirene’;She shows her live moment as she enquires me;She forget her odd living, she forgets her poor;She carries back her left over vegetables, Holding her ‘pothon’ on the other hand, she walks hurriedly;Ah! She’s a mother; she’s a grand-mother,How lucky! She’s feeding some lives by her earning;With all those happy faces, when she’s back home;She buys ‘rice’ for a day with her selling;O! The believer, she’s blesses ‘ebok’ to three life;Her selling a golden price, a life saver.

It’s the season of Utsav Tarpon. This month is fully preserved to offer feast to the deities in the name of those departed souls. This is the time we get to eat variant dishes prepared by the Bhamons (Manipuri Brahmins). I remember as a girl I had to go early in the morning and help the ladies in washing and cutting the vegetables which will be soon cooked by the Bhamons. I used to get impatient to eat those dishes specially PakoraThongba (fritters with gravy) but the feast would be served only after the dishes were offered to the deities and then to the departed souls. I remembermy aunt telling me a joke about these Bhamons; though we were supposed to eat the feast much later, the Bhamons eat all the dishes even before offering to the deities since they have to taste the salt. I am still not sure how far is that true. Normally we eat lunch at 10 or 11 am, but during the feast we get to eat at 1 ‘o’ clock. I was so impatient back then just by looking at the plates (made by banana leaves) filled with rice and different curries. Waiting for the prayers to finish felt like eternity and when the time came, one of the Bhamons would shout Chak Take (meaning lunch is served) and I ran with my friends to get ourselves a plate because often the number of people outnumbered the plates. And if we didn’t get a place to sit then we had to wait for the next round along with the Bhamons. No one wants that at least the children. The moment we sat down we would admire the beauty of the dishes; it’s so vibrant and every dish looked tasty. If we had smart phones like now our Instagram would be filled with these food pictures. But thank God we didn’t have phones then because the uncles and aunties sitting next to us would have given us a slap if we had taken pictures instead of eating them. And the most funny part is the dishes I so admired were so many that the moment I start eating all my hunger would vanish. I could never finish my colorful plate.When this month arrives it brings the aroma of feast. I remember wearing warm clothes when I was cutting vegetables in the early morning. The streets used to be blinded by fog. It was a beautiful part of my childhood memory. I used to call it the month of different dishes. Recently after several years I attended a feast offered to my great grandfather. Everything changed. It must be only my thoughts but the aroma is gone. How am I sure that the population of our state increased was after seeing many new faces in the feast. All my cousins got married and had kids. My nieces and nephews became taller and bigger. The Bhamons were new and looked younger. The food was served in steel plates not in the banana leaves and the saddest part is the water was no longer served in Khujai (a traditional water container larger than glass) but the water bottles were provided for each plate. Maybe I lost my appetite the aroma I used to admire was not there anymore. Change may be good in terms of road and infrastructure. But it makes me wonder ‘how far we need to change’? The flavor that once I admired got lost with the change of banana leaves maybe. However, for me the taste of Utsav Tarpon will always be the one I remember from the past like someone said if you want to be happy in the present then recall happy times from the past.

Baloch nationalist leader Hyrbyair Marri will interact with Guwahati scribes on Wednesday (25 September 2019) where he is expected to narrate the story of Balochistan freedom struggle against Islamabad and probable Indian contributions. The prominent leader of Free Balochistan Movement will be available through video conferencing to the members of Guwahati Press Club from 4 pm onward.

Born in Quetta of Balochistan to the family of veteran Baloch national leader Nawab Khair Baksh Marri, Hyrbyair completed his early education in Quetta and Kabul (Afghanistan) and then moved to Russia to study journalism. In the Eighties, he moved to Afghanistan along

with his father Nawab Khair Baksh Marri and other family members. He used to visit Hilmand, where Baloch refugees escaping Pakistan’s repression had sought asylum.

Hyrbyair returned to Balochistan in the early Nineties. He took part in Balochistan provincial assembly elections in 1997 and won with a majority of votes to become a minister Balochistan provincial government in Pakistan. He was the youngest Baloch minister to decline

to pledge loyalty to Islamabad.

Instead of the words ‘I shall remain loyal to Pakistan’ he vowed ‘I shall remain loyal to my Nation’. Hyrbyair was also the first Baloch minister to protest against conducting1998 nuclear tests in Balochistan.

In 1999, he traveled to Europe and sought exile in the UK, the same year General Pervez Musharraf grabbed the power in Islamabad through a military coup and dismissed the Nawaz Sharif government along with all provincial governments.

In early 2000, a Balochistan High Court Judge (Nawaz Marri) was killed by miscreants, but the Musharraf government arrested his father along with many Marri tribesmen. Hyrbyair and his brothers were also implicated in the murder case. On 4 December 2007, Hyrbyair was arrested at the behest of the military government in Islamabad and put him in Britain’s high-security Belmarsh prison.

He is the first Baloch leader, along with Faiz Baluch, ever to serve prison term abroad for the cause of Baloch people. By February 2008 both were acquitted of terrorism charges by the British court. He remains steadfast with his demand for an independent Balochistan. He is open to the idea of dialogues but continues insisting that the issue of Balochistan’s independence must be a part of such talks.

The Chandel Battalion of 26 Sector Assam Rifles under the aegis of HQ IGAR (South) organized a village Chiefs Conclave at Chandel on 21 September 2019. Chiefs, Secretaries and members from different villages of Chandel district participated in the event. The event was conducted by Chandel Battalion, wherein the Commandant enlightened them about the various schemes being undertaken by the Assam Rifles. Commandant apprised them about the establishment of various skill training centres at Battalion HQ location under the aegis of National Development Scheme Corporation. He also briefed them regarding the pre-recruitment training, BADP projects, Op Sadbhavana and Assam Rifles Civic Action Projects. Promotion of various games and sports were also stressed upon and Chiefs were requested to engage the youth in various nation building activities. They were also informed regarding Chandel being declared as an aspirational district of India wherein a number of development projects are being undertaken by the civil administration in the district. Details of the Jal Shakti Abhyan, National bamboo mission initiatives and environment conservation were also shared with the village chiefs and secretaries. This gathering was in continuation of the policy of reaching out to the people and spreading awareness regarding Government schemes and welfare projects so that the commoners can be benefitted. This effort was appreciated by the attendees and they requested to conduct such informative gathering frequently.

A mass tree plantation program and Social Service Camp under the aegis of the Eco Club was held supported by Unified Rural Development Organisation (URDO) at Wangjing Hodamba Jr.High School in ThoubaI District Saturday. to counter the changing climatic condition on earth and the global warming to some extent.

About 100 seedlings of different species were planted in the program Ksh.Premdash Singh Secretary Unified Rural Development Organisation (URDO), Bibatsu Salam and other teachers were present in the program.

Teacher of Wangjing Hodamba Junior High School Bibatsu Salam said that the tree plantation social service camp was conducted to fight the present drastic change in climatic condition to some extent which is caused by large scale deforestation across the globe including Manipur.

Such tree plantation drive will educate the public about the significance of planting trees in fight against global warming and hope that the future generation may develop the habit of planting more trees to preserve the nature, Bibatsu said.